In connection with the manufacture of papermaking pulp, various steps of the process include material being transported in the form of chips or pulp. In certain parts of the process the material must be fed uniformly from containers for storage and/or treatment of the material to a subsequent treatment step, for example, the feeding of chips from a storage container to a digester. The problem in this case is to bring about a uniform flow through the container. The material can adhere to the walls of the container and thereby cause arching and/or the material can move at different speeds in different parts of the cross-section of the container. The feed of the material through the container can thus be stopped, or the stay-time of the material in the container can vary. This is particularly unfavourable when the material is subjected to some kind of treatment in the container, for example preheating with steam or treatment with chemicals.
Many different solutions of the above problem have been suggested. The walls of the container, for example, can be provided different configurations and angles, and different types of discharge means can be placed in the container. All these solutions, however, have disadvantages, and therefore the problem at least partially remains.